The Mississippi Justice Project
4716 Blackwell Den
Warm Springs, Arkansas 72478
March 24, 2008
My name is Elnora Hubbard. My son Jeffrey B. Salley-Hubbard was falsely accused and arrested on October 21, 2001 for the October 18, 2001 armed robbery of Union Planters Bank in Calhoun County (Derma), Mississippi. That case was retired to the file by Judge Andrew Kincannon Howorth on October 7, 2004.
Jeffrey was then tried and convicted on November 20, 2002 for the armed robbery of Wayne and Nona Clark, which was said to have happened June 15, 2001 in Calhoun County (Pittsboro), Mississippi.
Beginning:
On October 18, 2001, Shirley West, a teller with the Union Planters in Calhoun County (Derma), Mississippi, stated that two black males wearing masks and camouflage clothing entered the front door of the bank with the third suspect still in the car. West said that both suspects had weapons aimed at herself and another teller, Nancy Poe. West stated she put a dye pack into the bag that the robber had given her. West said both robbers left the bank. West said the car was a tan or gold color. West also said she could not tell what kind of car it was. A video tape showed the robbers were in the bank forty-two seconds. Police says, the dye pack exploded about one-half mile from the bank and the bag and money were thrown out.
Jeffrey’s former girlfriend, Teresa Tyler, stated to me that Sheriff Billy Gore and two other deputies from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s department drove to her house around 9:00 p.m. and told her (Teresa) to get up and get dressed, that they were all going for a ride. Teresa said she did what she was told. Teresa say Sheriff Billy Gore then told her if she didn’t say that Jeffrey and two other men robbed the bank that he would make sure the State take her then two year old daughter from her.
Teresa then called me the next day and told me (Elnora) what had happened. Teresa also said she made what ever false statements against Jeffrey that the police wanted her to make even though she knew those statements weren’t true. Teresa said the police had terrified her and she didn’t know what to do because she did not want to lose her daughter.
I immediately retained a lawyer by the name of Brian Neely, who practices in Tupelo, Mississippi. Attorney Neely recorded the confession with Teresa admitting that Sheriff Billy Gore and two of his deputies had threatened her into saying that Jeffrey and two other men had robbed the bank.
There were several witnesses, including the store clerk from the gas station in Gore Springs (Grenada County), Mississippi who were willing to testify to Jeffrey’s whereabouts at the time the bank robbery was said to have happened. I paid Attorney Neely five thousand dollars at the time to represent my son. Attorney Neely never contacted any of those witnesses.
Jeffrey has suffered from paranoid schizophrenia since age fifteen. He is thirty seven now.
While waiting in jail, Jeffrey threatened to sue the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department for falsely arresting him, so the sheriff’s department conjured up another charge against Jeffrey. Jeffrey was then kept him in jail for the June 15, 2001 armed robbery of Wayne and Nona Faye Clark. Jeff was also beaten and maced/pepper sprayed by Officers Dewayne Winters and Stan Evans, while in the custody of the Calhoun County Sheriff Department, according to Jeffrey and other inmates that were present at the time.
Wayne and Nona Clark testified that on June 15, 2001, three black men entered their home and said they were going to pay a bill. Wayne and Nona Clark also testified that neither of the men were wearing masks, gloves, or any other covering to conceal their identity. The Clark’s testified the men, (while touching various items in their home), robbed them of a couple of rings, a pistol, and a billfold. The Clark’s testified that they didn’t touch, anything in the house after the robbers left, but did leave the home to call the police. The Clark’s testified that they had bruises , but couldn’t remember if the police had taken pictures of the bruises that same night or the next day. The Clark’s also testified that the police did dust for fingerprints, but did not collect DNA samples. NOTE: The fingerprints did not match any of the men that was tried and convicted.
Neither Wayne of Nona Clark were able to make an identification of the robbers whatsoever, even though the men were not wearing mask, gloves, or anything to conceal their identity, until October, some months later, when Calhoun County Sheriff’s department decided to have Jeffrey and the other two men named as suspects. The Calhoun County officers said they took pictures of Jeffrey and the other two men to the Clark’s and it was then that the Clark’s decided they could make an i.d.
The Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, then prosecutor, was also present at Jeffreys’ trial. I have tried several attempts to contact the attorney general concerning my son, and the Attorney General refuses to return any responses.
On the day of Jeffrey’s trial, Attorney Neely did not even contact me to let me know Jeffrey’s trial was going on. I was very sick that day from my chemotherapy treatments when I decided to call the attorney’s office to see if a trial date had been set. Attorney Neely’s secretary stated “Ma’am as we speak, the trial is going on right now.” I was devastated. I immediately contacted my husband, who is now deceased as of 2005.
My son is really having a hard time dealing with the fact that he is incarcerated for something he have no knowledge of. He is dying in prison. I visited Jeffrey March 14, 2007 and he had lost over one hundred pounds. He could not walk. The prison guards had to carry him out into the visitation area. Just this past week, the doctor of the prison contacted my home and said that Jeffrey had not eaten in five days.
I pray that someone will help me with my son. He is indeed a living person with three beautiful children who misses their dad terribly. His family misses him too. It’s time for the innocent in the prison system to come out.
Respectfully Submitted
Elnora Hubbard
Gore Springs, Mississippi
The Mississippi Justice Project Presents
The
Elnora Hubbard Story
NOTE:
The Mississippi Justice Project has been aware of this story for quite some time but we have been unable to publish it due to our belief that Mr. Hubbard was not well enough to give us his permission.
We decided to do something a little different this time and to provide Mrs. Hubbard a space to tell the story of her own struggle to obtain justice for her son.
This is her own story told in her own words (with very minor spelling corrections) and we believe that you will find it very compelling.
Douglas Todd
Operations Director
The Mississippi Justice Project
This page was last updated: March 31, 2008
